It's called Grace

Grace. It’s one thing that’s harder to comprehend then the trinity.  Grace means this ‘unmerited favor’. So God gives us unconditional love – despite all we do to him and each other” (bible basics). Grace is also defined to be the power from God to do his will.   Grace it’s something that God gives to us, it’s something that God showed us by sending Jesus.  I don’t understand or get why God showed me Grace, I guess that’s why its grace because we don’t understand it.  I can’t grasp my mind around the fact that a perfect complete, without blemish God would want to extend Grace to me, a poor wretched sinner who spits in his face and who nailed him to the cross.  He showed Grace to, me, you, us. My Question is WHY. Why God? Why do you do the things you do? Why do you care about me? Why do you constantly love me? Why do you show me compassion, why?  Is it because you’re my father? Because you made me in your image? Because you love me more than anything?  Is that why you show me such Ultimate Grace. I don’t know the reason you show me grace but I thank you Jesus for your extraordinary grace.  I trust and believe you love me and are with me every day. 

“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”  1 Corinthians 15:10

Jesus Help me be Crazy in Love with You

Recently, as of last week I(Laney) picked up the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I would encourage all of you to pick up a copy of this spectatualr amazing book! This book isn't one you'll pick up read through and say well that's nice for other "Christians" to do. NO This book will make you fall on your hands and knees and will make you experience your christian walk like never before.  One big thing i struggle with is being IN LOVE with Jesus, in love as in always thinking about him, talking or being in his presence. I struggle with being a "lukewarm" christian sometimes probably more then i realize. I get busy with this that and everything else and God kind of falls on my back burner. Over the last few months God has been working in me to focus more on him and less on material things in this world. One example is my phone/facebook, I'm a normal teenager what can i say i love to keep up my friends, but God has taken that desire to always be on facebook or always be on my phone away. I still adore texting my beloved friends but now i just don't do it as much. Anyway back to my back burner, God isn't there anymore and I'm working on him never being there again. I know I'll fail, but at least I'm getting off my bottom and doing something about it. Crazy Love has taught me to Pray more, be in Gods word more and seek him more. It's overwhelming how much God loves and and wants me to be in his presence, and yes i do believe God wants us to want to seek him. Being Crazy in Love with God might mean spending an extra 10 minutes on your knees, it might mean instead of sleeping 15 extra minutes getting up and reading his word .  Maybe it's loving that person in your life who is anything but easy. Out of all the things Ive just said the getting out of bed is probably the hardest for me, but let me tell you its totally worth it. I don't really know what else God wants me to do to become more crazy in love with him but i pray when the time comes  i'll know and I'll be able to do whatever he asks of me. Each day Im seeking to love Jesus more and more!

Strong Enough

A few days ago my mom was talking to a lady in the grocery store and they were talking about this young lady's father and all the many things he has been through. She said he gets irritated when people say "God won't give you more then you can handle." Personally he says God has given him more then he thinks he can handle. God gives us more then we earthly can handle but thank goodness God can handle it! Maybe the reason God gives us more then we can handle is because we wants us to give up handling our own situations and give them over to him. So this week when you don't think you can handle anything remember God can handle anything and everything you give to him, so give him everything and let him work in your life.

"I can do all things through Christ who which strengtheneth me."  Philippians 4:13 KJV

"The Spirit of the Souvereign Lord is on me".....Pslam 61:1-2

"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners," Psalm 61:1-2

Both of us really love this verse with all our hearts because we believe God has anointed us, we believe he has called us continue on with the work Jesus started 2,000 years ago. To give comfort to the needy and to set the captives free! Isn't it a wonderful thought that Jesus has anointed us teenagers to spread his word, that is something we should cherish and not take lightly! God chose you and me to spread his word, he choose us, poor ratty heartless sinners saved by his grace so we could spread his truth.

Today I was talking to a friend of ours mother, we were discussing spiritual things and she was telling me some of her life stories, one that i want to share!
  
    Her story started like this.......

 "One day, after teaching at school, i was driving home. I wasn't far from the school when i noticed there had been a wreck up ahead. As i passed by I felt God calling me to stop, get out of the car and go see what was wrong. Seeing there were several police officers around, my courage failed me, and i kept driving. I hadn't gone far when i felt God telling me to turn around and go back, so i did, and when i got there, i again felt him calling me to go and check things out, make sure everything was ok, but again my courage failed me, as i wondered, what are those people going to think when little me just walks up in the center of everything? Again, i drove off. Not too long up the road God told me to go back, so i did, but the same thing happened.  I got back in my car, only to drive a small way to hear God calling me back, so  turned around. When i got there i got out, and it was strange, no one even noticed me, i walked right into the center of everything! I looked down on a stretcher to see one of my students, when she saw me she looked so relieved and  called to me and asked me to contact her mother, telling her what had happened and that she was being taken to the hospital (no cell phones back then). So I did. The next day they brought me a small gift, and she thanked me for stopping, saying she had watched several of her other teachers look and drive by. I was so glad God had called me to stop and help that girl, even if it took a while :)"

 Have you ever felt God calling you to do something but you just shake it off, or say, "no God, I'm just too small, I'm just well, me!" I know we have. But if God is telling you to do it, the worst thing we could do is run the other way, or be a Jonah. This story got me pumped for the next time I feel called to say or do something for some one else, even though it may come across as odd to others, you never know how you might be a blessing to that person! So don't be afraid to shine the light of Jesus, and if the world looks at you like you're crazy, that means you're doing the right thing! Dare to be.... abnormal.

Colossians 4:2-4

Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
Withal praying for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:
That I may make it manifest, as i ought to speak.    Colossians 4:2-4
     My grandmother was telling me the other day how my cousin, who just left for a mission trip to Africa had asked that, when praying for him, she pray those verses! I started thinking, aren't those verses something we should be praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ daily? I know i would love for people to pray that whenever i am explaining the gospel of Christ, God would open a door of utterance, that i would be able to speak the right words! As Christians we never know when the opportunity will arise where we are given the chance to speak about the love of Jesus, so to have a friends praying for one another on this behalf would be amazing! Also, please remember my cousin in prayers as he continues on his mission trip, pray that he, and the group he is with will be able to speak the mystery of Christ, and not only for them, but for the rest of your brothers and sisters in Christ as well!

What if i dared to dress DiFeReNtLy?

Its spring time and with spring comes the ideas of short cute dresses, beautiful elegant prom dresses and everything in between. Both Bek and I are going to a Formal party, where we are going to be dressed up in “prom” attire. The hardest thing about this party is finding a beautiful modest dress that covers you but is still well beautiful. As a little girl we have both dreamed of going to “proms” “formals” I guess it’s just the little girl thing to do to dream about being Cinderella in a fancy ball gown and have a prince come sweep you off your feet. Ha ha No we aren’t expecting a prince to sweep us off our feet we are just in high school. Prom dresses having been consuming our minds for the past months, I told my mom id looked at so many dresses they all started to look the same. This whole prom thing what is it really about? For us its about  getting a special dress and getting our hair and makeup done, for others it’s the partying after the prom. Proms having gotten a bad reputation for being filled with drugs, alcohol and all manor of ungodly things, but I think the one thing we miss a lot about proms is the attire . Many many Christian girls go to proms in ungodly attire; I’ve always tried to figure out why. These girls are godly girls I know they love the Lord but still something is missing, and we think we know what. When these Christian girls go shopping for dresses they say well all my friends have no straps so I’ll have one strap and still be modest. No No No. That is comparing yourself with the worlds standards not Gods. I said to my mom this afternoon “It would be so much easier to not worry about modesty” my mom’s quick reply was yes it would be so much easier to follow the world then to follow God where modesty comes in, and its true. The world’s modest standard is so much lower than God its much easier to follow it. Think about it the world makes it easier to follow it then to follow God. Whenever I see something I think would really cute but it’s a little shorter or more reviling my mom always says what would your guy friends think? Would they be embarrassed for you? Would they laugh? Those two sentences have kept me from buying so many articles of clothing that I didn’t think were immodest but when looking at it through a guys perspective it suddenly became horrific. So next time you go shopping try looking at the clothes through a guys perspective, or even better take a brother /Dad or good friend with you when shop!